IT Decision-Makers Turn To The Web For Information

When we asked IT decision-makers where they turn to for information on IT products and vendors, they cited vendor Web sites as their No. 1 source of information. Alas, a high-quality site that is useful and usable is a rarity among the 213 business-to-business (B2B) sites that Forrester has evaluated. And when sites have flaws and lack functionality that hinder a user's ability to find critical content, business opportunities are missed. To avoid driving technology customers to more expensive channels or even other vendors, technology marketers should focus on three things: 1) understanding their users and their goals; 2) aligning the user, the goal, and the correct channel; and 3) providing a channel experience that helps the user accomplish her goals in the least painful way possible.